Name the last book that you passed along to someone and said, "You have to read this."
joswood@msn.com
I would have to say The Kite Runner, which is a book I learned about on bookreporter.com. In fact, I read the library's copy, and loved it so much I bought a copy of my own with the intention of sharing it. Right now, about 6 people have read it, and I'm not really sure where it is.
Rebecca from Wilmington
The last books that I passed on as "you have to read this" were Jonathan Safron Foer's Everything Is Illuminated and David Mitchell's Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas.
Christophercherd@aol.com
Christopher Moore's Lamb.
catslady5@aol.com
The Eight by Katherine Neville and The Secret by Julie Garwood
Arrfa@aol.com
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown to my oldest son.
Prince of Fire by Dan Silva to my youngest son.
Kahoho@aol.com
The last book that I read and passed on to a friend to read wasThe Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald.
Bloomingfemme110@aol.com
The last book I passed along to someone and said "You have to read THIS!" was 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn.
FRANCES732@aol.com
Keeping Secrets by Penny Mickelbury
Trop49@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Rickimc@aol.com
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
Gini Askew
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
User116712@aol.com
I just recommended the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Recommended starting at the first one, One for the Money.
PhotoJaq@aol.com
I recently passed along Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas to a book reading friend of mine. It's a wonderful tale of Victorian England, after the Sherlock Holmes genre. Very well plotted, and the characters are wonderful.
Anonymous
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
clairever@redshift.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
hstay@direcway.com
After reading all of the Charles Todd books, I felt compelled to pass along his (their) latest, A Cold Treachery, after discovering our retired library director was just as much a fan as I. In fact, after she finishes reading it, I requested the book be donated to the library. It's strange finding these so enjoyable when I rarely read anything accept hardboiled-type mysteries. I guess it's wise not to set your mind in stone.
TereseRose
I hand-delivered The Glass Castle to a friend. She was going on a cruise and I knew this memoir by Jeannette Walls was THE book she should take with her. It is an incredible story of survival and hope. On the cover Dominic Dunne is quoted as saying that it is a book that once began cannot be put down, and truer words were never spoken.
Jamie L. Watts, Attica, KS
Harvest by Tess Gerritsen. This is one book that is definitely a must read. I highly recommend you take the time and do the same. My husband is a liver transplant survivor going on seven years now. I was first introduced to this book by one of my husband's nurses during our stay at UNMC in Omaha, NE. It grabbed my attention immediately and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down until I was finished.
Ron, Scituate, RI
The King and I --- about Pavarotti and his agent.
pleesanders@comcast.net
The last book that I passed along was The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll by Jean Nathan. I could not get this book out of my head for weeks after I read it. It is such a haunting biography.
Maureen Hoffman-Wehmeier, Franklin, IN
I had to pass along Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock to my friend Christy. Trouble is...she lives in PA. Instead of simply handing it over, I mailed it to her. She has passed it on to her mom.
IChur@aol.com
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Lamb1175@aol.com
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I gave it to my sister with "this is fantastic!" Just waiting for it to come back and off it goes to my sister-in-law. This book rose immediately to my all-time favorite. I recommend it all of the time.
GerryD8784@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
xmissyo@yahoo.com
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
jacobson312@earthlink.net
Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language by Eva Hoffman.
Exquisite writing, one of the best arriving in this category --- a new land and understanding yourself and culture through language.
GandmaRI@aol.com
I lent Blowout by Catherine Coulter to a friend. I knew that she was a Coulter fan too and hadn't been able to get the book at the library.
Donna of New Berlin
The last book I read and passed on was Mr. Lucky by James Swain. It was entertaining and filled with danger, excitement, interesting information and just a great read. It was refreshing and I really enjoyed it.
Claire in Royal Oak, MI
The last book I recommended is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Just great IMHO.
divabrady@yahoo.com
The last book I routinely tell people to get is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde to start the wonderful Thursday Next series.
Broadwaybabe62@aol.com
There are 3 books I have done that with. The first was Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, the second was of course his The Da Vinci Code, and the latest is Suspect by Michael Robotham. I am not one to usually recommend books to anyone but these 3 books need to be read by everyone who loves thrillers. And I have you guys to thank for bringing them to my attention
Carole from Wisconsin
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
RG1202@aol.com
Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull.
I've told several people to read it and I've given several as gifts. It's that good!
gmetz@westco.net
Hostage by Robert Crais
tnewhouse@intaca.com
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
MOOSEEY@aol.com
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
VBNOLTEP@aol.com
Honeymoon by James Patterson. Exciting, suspenseful and an easy read. Just the type of book to make you sit down and read instead of working.
ARomano895@aol.com
The Broker by John Grisham
Linda in Ontario
The one that stands out is American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It is not my usual type of read and I admit I still don't understand it, but it sure kept me captivated. I handed it to one of my co-workers and said "You have to read this!"
Ykira@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Schnoon@aol.com
The latest book I passed on was My Losing Season by Pat Conroy. I think to appreciate the book you have to have a love of basketball and those who have played it. Many times I turned to my husband to read him excerpts. However, my son received the book first to read.
fran1999@webtv.net
To the Heart of the Nile by Pat Shipman.
This book sat on my shelf for over a year, not because the story was bad --- in fact it sounded very interesting. The book has a bad title and an even worse book jacket. It's a miracle if it would pique anyone's interest to even pick it up and read the flyleaf.
But it is an excellent story and leaves Cussler and others behind. With a real adventure and all the letters, photos, engravings, and newspaper clippings to verify a Mid-Victorian search for the source of the Nile, I doubt anyone could duplicate the trip today.
Laurie Holeman
That would have to be The Da Vinci Code.
BookLoaner@aol.com
The last book I passed along to several friends assuring them they would love it was Waterloo Station by Emily Grayson. Besides the fact that the book was in comfortable-to-read large print, the story was such a memorable one that I knew others would love it. Each reader, much to their surprise, couldn't stop reading it once they started and returned it within a few days. Everyone who read it, loved it.
Sunshin444@aol.com
The moment I finished The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, I told all my book friends that they have to read it.
Dgeadgmd@aol.com
The last book I passed on to someone and told them they "had to read it" was In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Wonderful writing, intriguing story.
mbennett32003@earthlink.net
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult!
firsterie@adelphia.net
The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
ajpohren@IowaTelecom.net
Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate. I believe this book should be on everyone's bookshelf! What a wonderful book, that enables one to put their life into perspective and figure out what is truly important. I have never read a book that touched me so deeply and had such an impact on my life as this one did.
ATESSL@aol.com
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
Fgiitter@aol.com
Most recently, I gave Barbara Ley Toffler's book (with Jennifer Reingold), Final Accounting, to a friend who worked for Arthur Andersen during the good years of the '50s and '60s. It concerns the internal strife and changes that led to the meltdown, shortly after Enron also stumbled. If they had only stuck to the founder's directives, it never would have happened.
kdgordon88@comcast.net
There are two I still can't quit recommending: The Time Traveler's Wife and My Sister's Keeper.
mbunting@sbcglobal.net
Liberating Paris by Linda Bloodworth Thomason
CandyM49@aol.com
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
justme@xmission.com
Definitely The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I gave it to several friends and told them to do EXACTLY THAT! My book is so worn looking now that it should be in the hall of fame for having been read the most and traveled the farthest! My daughter even took it to Guatemala and the Mayan Ruins with her! Everyone loves it as much as I DO!
zorm1942@yahoo.com
I really loved and have been recommending Blessings by Anna Quindlen and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
lisaavila2000@yahoo.com
I just finished Daniel's Veil by R.H. Stavis and have already passed it on. Great book.
Britadon@aol.com
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.
I have passed this on to several of my teacher friends who I know will enjoy it.
lmc108@yahoo.com
After I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, I wanted to share it with all my friends right away --- but I could only lend my copy to one at a time!
slippert123@adelphia.net
The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
martysmarty@hotmail.com
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a great read. It is a little book loaded with humor and telling a wonderful tale about two educated Chinese lads who are sent to the country to do their Communist duty in the 1970s. It is a delightful book, written by Sijie Dai, who actually participated in the country adventure. I highly recommend it.
maryb99@charter.net
The last book that I passed along was The Kite Runner.
retro42fritz@aol.com
I just read Fluke by Christopher Moore. It was great and unexpected, and so good that I could not put it down.
Mdnghttt@aol.com
Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Dee5anmm@aol.com
Angela's Ashes and Tis by Frank McCourt are the last books I passed along.
Dianna
These are a few of my top pass-alongs:
Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward
The Rich Part of Life by Jim Kokoris
The Other by Thomas Tryon.
This is an old out-of-print book I picked up at a used bookstore and I only lend it out after receiving a sacred oath that it will be returned. I also throw in the threat that "I will haunt you forever if don't give this back."
bjbookman@msn.com
Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath. MJ Rose recommended this new author to my book group. Really enjoyed it.
peloquin79@verizon.net
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
MLWReader@aol.com
The Disappearance of the Universe by Gary Renard
MegVT@aol.com
Definitely My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It was the most talked-about book, with lots of questions and very thought provoking. I couldn't put the book down and I cried at the end.
DEJA2002@aol.com
The Tea House on Mulberry Street by Sharon Owens. Excellent read.
DaveRudy@aol.com
Just last week I passed on to my brother-in-law Angels & Demonsby Dan Brown.
Claire Laskowski, Glendale, AZ
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
niener987@jam.rr.com
The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King. This is the last one I actually loaned. It was a signed first edition, and I had to actually demand that it be given back! From now on, I will merely make strong suggestions of my faves for my friends to check out from the library or to purchase from their favorite bookstore!
Others I have strongly recommended, but not loaned:
The Footprints of God by Greg Iles
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Geronimo Rex by Barry Hannah
Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty
The Last of the Southern Girls by Willie Morris
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
September by Rosamunde Pilcher
LPNS1@aol.com
The last book I read and passed on to someone else wasHoneymoon by James Patterson.
kriskinter@verizon.net
Dan Brown's Deception Point. Great reading, I couldn't put it down.
ntroike@msn.com
I normally don't pass along books, but this one I just had to. What a cliffhanger as it is book one of a series: Dean Koontz's Frankenstein. It is not the same old story and what a page-turner.
Maureen Stokowski, Middletown, CT
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
mtk12345@aol.com
After my book club read The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, I read the sequel Children of God. I could hardly wait to recommend it to my club/friends...I loved it!
Also, I read The Kite Runner last month and I'm still haunted by it. What a powerful book --- I urged many to read it.
MJWeish@kc.rr.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
jandjross@cox.net
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a beautifully written novel of love, adventure, and a love of books. According to the author this is one of a quartet of novels he has planned, all set in Barcelona. With the quality of Senor Zafon's writing, however, I fear I will have to wait several more years for number two in the quartet.
Jackie G in Fort Worth, Texas
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, recently published by Scribner.
It's a memoir. The book reads like fiction and the fact that it is a true story made me drop my jaw in amazement so many times while reading, and even exclaim out loud "Are you kidding me?" to myself. This is a funny, sad, bizarre, uplifting, and depressing book, and sometimes all these emotions show up on the same page! I laughed out loud, fought back some tears, and overall had to read it in one sitting because I simply could not sleep until I knew the outcome. There were so many times I stopped reading for a minute to catch my breath and jot down another name of a person I could recommend this to. So far that list of names is at 60 people. This is a reader's book and I challenge anyone who takes the time to read this to tell me I am wrong.
One early chapter opens with a few simple sentences:
I was on fire.
It's my earliest memory. I was three years old, and we were living in a trailer park in a southern Arizona town whose name I never knew.
Roscoe@drizzle.com
I recently told my sister that she HAD to read Mary Doria Russell'sA Thread of Grace. But I tend to keep the books I love...so a book I actually passed on to someone? That's tough. Does it count if you say "you HAVE to go to the library and get this" or simply "you HAVE to read this"? Then I'd have to say the upcomingLocked Rooms by Laurie R. King and Harley Jane Kozak's Dating Dead Men, and the upcoming The Poet's Funeral by John M. Daniel.
ellenjer@execpc.com
I have been telling people about Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. I picked it off the new bookshelf at my public library because of the title and found it was a Holocaust remembrance novel, which I love. A wonderful companion read to Mary Doria Russell's A Thread of Grace and The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.
It comes out in paperback later this spring and would be a perfect book club discussion book --- family silence, mother-daughter relationships, the war, etc.
Sarah from Janesville
I passed along The Time Traveler's Wife, and I told my sister-in-law to pass it on to one more sister-in-law too. My first sister and I had spent quite a bit of a conversation discussing time and just keeping track of things...oh, this book hit home. My second sister is an incurable romantic (without the novels to go with it) and this book is romance like you read about.
pjetheredge@comcast.net
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller
jillolso@execpc.com
I passed Sideways along to my brother --- we had both seen the film and enjoyed it. We were also both surprised there was a book, and I've since read that the film was made before the book got published. It was great fun.
lket@johnroberts.com
The most recent book that I have passed along was The Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund. Fabulous book!
I also passed along Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. I had listened to the audiobook and loved the story and the reader was especially good.
Judyal7@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
susanreading@tds.net
Two books I loved and recommend highly are My Sister's Keeperby Jodi Picoult and The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Both are excellent stories with believable characters and plots. These books will make you think and are great book club choices. Once you start them you do not want to put them down. I am currently reading Ms. Picoult's newest Vanishing Acts and it is also wonderful. I am considering renting a hotel room so I can read it straight through without interruptions (like dinner and laundry.)
CWall@wallingford.k12.ct.us
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
ksenglish@earthlink.net
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
EZREADER1265@aol.com
Murder in Havana by Margaret Truman
ragsk2743@aol.com
The Last To Know by Wendy Corsi Staub
shazam333@earthlink.net
I just discovered a new author named Ed Kovacs and finished his book Unseen Forces. He is great! Writes in the style of Cussler, Ludlum and DeMille. This is a fast-paced book that takes you all over the world and you simply cannot put it down! His hero is named Sky Wilder and when he breaks an impenetrable code in Arizona, he finds the first part of a three-part key to an ancient alchemical text containing a formula for immortality. Sky teams up with a remote viewer and, with a secret society following two steps behind him, he travels all over the world to obtain the other two parts of the formula.
Just as soon as I finished, I ordered two copies for friends of mine who like the same style of books I do. This is probably one of the best books I've read since The Da Vinci Code.
jennifer_ann@bellsouth.net
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. This was the first book in quite awhile to blow my mind! Absolutely could not put it down, but it is intelligent reading as well as entertaining.
baxtergr@msn.com
The most recent book that I enthusiastically recommended to a friend was The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi. This book, which recounts the experiences of a young woman's first visit home to India from the United States in seven years, caused me, a senior citizen, to understand a bit more the changes that young people who leave home encounter, whether they go across town, to another state or another country. Beautifully written.
Gb821@aol.com
The Kite Runner. I absolutely loved this book.
ELLERBAKER@aol.com
I did better than pass one book on. I passed the Family Secrets Series from Harlequin (16-book series). This was not wimpy romance but a romantic mystery series. A couple of the books were all-night reads because you could not put them down.
Magster2@cox.net
Wish You Well by David Baldacci. What a total change from his hard-boiled mysteries! Full of characters and life that make you long for a sweeter, simpler time.
Megan from Buffalo, NY
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Once my friend read this we then convinced our entire book club to read it. It's the kind of book you have to read and have to talk to someone about!
amy.gross@cingular.com
Alone by Lisa Gardner
Piglit412@aol.com
The "You have to read this" book would have to be Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. A MUST read!!
MSShealy@aol.com
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
bookldy@penn.com
The last book I read and passed on, saying, "You have to read this" is Light on Snow by Anita Shreve.
Katherine
I love recommending books to people and having them come back and tell me how much they loved it. So that's why I love to recommend Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli because I've never heard anything but good. Last night I even heard some of the people that I had recommended it to telling someone else that she should read it. If you know a teenager, a high school teacher, or a parent of a teenager, Stargirl may be a very fun read.
Susmu@aol.com
I recently finished The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr. I loved it! It was recommended by a friend who said, "I think you'll really like this!" I definitely did!
T. Shaw
I actually went out and purchased a new copy of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal for a friend of mine. I loved it so much I didn't want to lend her my own copy!
TBrooks@bcps.k12.md.us
The last book I passed along to someone was The Kite Runner. That was such a good book. I want everyone to appreciate it as much as I did.
MAESTRAVAZZI@peoplepc.com
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Val Conrad, Lebanon, OR
My mother died very recently after a brief stay in a Hospice facility. After she quietly moved on from our lives, I was speaking to one of her nurses about how my young nephew believed my older brother's angel came to get her. The nurse said she believed that children grow up in Heaven, but the relationships do not change. I said I didn't think so, that children were always children.
I mentioned The Lovely Bones as a story of a child who had died and continued her existence in Heaven without ever growing up. The nurse promised to read it, but it was worth the mere dollars to buy it for her as a gift for her extraordinary compassion to my family.
mainlinebooker@comcast.net
Definitely, and without a doubt, The Shadow of the Wind.
U2Fans@aol.com
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
MSmith2957@aol.com
The last book I passed along to a friend was Woman, Thou Art Loosed by T.D. Jakes
ltwofoot@tampabay.rr.com
You must read Honeymoon by James Patterson and A Veiled Journey by Shirley Palmer.
paularobbins@adelphia.net
I recommended Asylum by Patrick McGrath, a wonderful, fast read.
ALANTIS@indy.rr.com
Rosie Dunne by Ceceilia Ahern!!!!!
KTMPAL@aol.com
Sideways by Rex Pickett
dabshire@reeinc.net
I passed along Lamb by Christopher Moore. I was crying from laughing so hard through most of the book!
CLIorioles@aol.com
The book I recommended was 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. It is about that last 102 minutes after the World Trade Center buildings were hit. What a read!
susanreimers@hotmail.com
The last book I passed along was Nicholas Sparks's The Notebook.
GLev@aol.com
The Romance Reader by Pearl Abraham.
KuniP@aol.com
It is the book Passion Marks by Lee Hayes. It gives a look into domestic violence that I had never seen or heard of before...in a black gay relationship. The excuses that I have heard women say over the years of why they stay with someone who is abusive is the same that the male character in the book gave. So is this just a universal thought? I know that my eyes are a little more open because of this book.
JDDistef@aol.com
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, my favorite book of the year.
conwarn@aol.com
The Motive by John Lescroart
Anne in Austin
The Shadow of the Wind. I gulped it down and have subsequently recommended it to a number of people. When I found a copy for sale in the library's used book room, I literally pulled it off the shelf and handed it to a friend and said you MUST read this. I got an email from her recently saying, "I'm enjoying it a great deal and plan to recommend it to my reading group." Ahhhh.
lewis474@adelphia.net
Harlan Coben's Just One Look.
naidls@yahoo.com
The Bark of the Dogwood by Jackson Tippet McCrae.
KATHLAU@aol.com
Everything by Dorothea Benton Frank. My best friend and I are a couple of Jersey girls both relocating to South Carolina. While I'm going to the Midlands, she'll be outside of the place we both love, Charleston, near Isle of Palms & Shem Creek. Read these, I said, we know these places!
sschmooch2@comcast.net
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Martjoyc@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
stephejl@stclair.k12.il.us
I share books like people in church passing out breath mints. In the past week, I have offered the following three: I universally recommend The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane for the mystery lover, and Operating Instructionsby Anne Lamott for the new mother.
Melonyfawn@aol.com
The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith. I think she is the next Olivia Goldsmith.
NFrazelle@aol.com
Carl Hiassen's series, specifically Stormy Weather!
CorinnaBonk@westat.com
The last books I did this with were two in a row: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and then My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
Myrnapen@aol.com
I've recommended Crow Lake by Mary Lawson to several friends, and when they loved it, too, we suggested it to our book club. I've also recommended The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum as well as Ann Patchett's Bel Canto and The Magician's Assistant. It's rewarding when friends come back with a positive response to something I've suggested they read.
KARLWG@aol.com
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty, a book I found in the weekly newsletter from bookreporter.com. An excellent book that I would suggest everyone read!!
eplib@mchsi.com
The last book passed on to a reader was Blind Spot by Stephanie Kane, the first book in her Jackie Flowers legal series. Her books are wonderful, and in my opinion better than some of the drivel John Grisham has written of late. This is turning into a very fun series and I will recommend them to my patrons who like legal mysteries.
DPanzy@aol.com
The book was Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann. It has mystery and it has romance.
clee@dppl.org
Blood Memory by Greg Iles
Pat Banks
I read a book on the plane that was a must-read. I passed it on to my daughter. The book was called Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I plan on buying some of her other titles.
Comella2729@aol.com
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
hstay@direcway.com
I passed along Suspect by Michael Robotham after staying up most of the night finishing it myself. Then I told as many of my mystery loving reading friends that it was a keeper. Don't wait for the paperback edition.
Barbara Kirch, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
I am reading Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts and I find it riveting. I have recommended it to my book club and to at least 5 other friends. I can't put it down!
QueenGP@aol.com
Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy. It was wonderful.
Anonymous
The last book I pressed into someone else's hands (last week):What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank. I believe my exact words were "You HAVE to read this. It scared the #&$% out of me."
tmzemke@hotmail.com
The last book that I passed on was the new book March by Geraldine Brooks. It's historical fiction about the March family, from Little Women. It's told from the point of view of the father, Mr. March. It's a must-read! Who knew that Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson, was friends with Thoreau and Walden?
bksnell@socket.net
The last book I told someone to read, then lent it to them, wasEverything Happens for a Reason by Suzane Northrop. The one before that was The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne.
Anonymous
The Stupidest Angel and My Sister's Keeper.
Pigletstl@aol.com
The last book I read that I "passed on" and said "you must read this" is Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres. I read where it had been compared to Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and to Charles Dickens. However, I did not care for either of those any where near my love of De Bernieres's book. It had it all: romance, adventure, political strife, humor, and sadness. I was enthralled by this book and have been recommending it to everyone since I finished it.
Tsemi@aol.com
The last book I passed along to as a must-read was Me & Emmaby Elizabeth Flock.
VL Watts
The last book I read and passed along to several friends was Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie. As I am aging, I needed a new perspective on life and this book provided it, so I passed it along to friends. Anyone who wants to have a more positive outlook and a better view of life should read this book, especially if you know someone with a terminal illness.
annabelle973@aol.com
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
SENPowers@aol.com
The most recent book I suggested was Sins of the Seventh Sisterby Huston Curtiss. It's based on a true story in West Virginia in the 1920s and '30s. The story is raw, blunt and the story keeps you riveted. The characters are unique.
bookmark60@sc.rr.com
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
shimsterus@yahoo.com
My answer would be Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. It is absolutely hilarious. Also, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, which I found to be funny, sad, and brilliant all at once.
RBailleu@aol.com
I passed on one of my faves to a book club buddy last week. It was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I can't believe she hadn't read that one. I passed on Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl to another book club buddy. Great read, I love historical fiction!
KellyP8681@aol.com
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
GiGito8@aol.com
There have been several, but the last one that really made an impression was Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell. I gave a copy of this book to everyone in the family and said "You have to read this."
kbruns@dcs.wisc.edu
I just finished reading My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It was FABULOUS!!
kelloggd@kellogg.edu
Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian.
JoAnn Turbin
The last book I recommended was The Da Vinci Code to the receptionist at work who reads all day. Everytime I ask her if she likes the book she is reading, she shrugs her shoulders and says it's slow. So I thought The Da Vinci Code was so fast-paced that it would keep her interest. It did, and she loved it.
AMAF113@aol.com
French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
jamille.krupa@roche.com
The last two books I passed along (to my two nieces at Christmas) were The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I loved these books, and when we took our aunt out to dinner for her 80th birthday, I overheard them talking about reading them so I passed them along at Christmas and they were happy and surprised.
jhc peterson
The Widow's Adventure by Charles Dickinson is a faaaaaaaaaaantastic book that I return to over and over and over. So many issues covered well…would make a perfect movie.
luvladybugtyms2@netzero.net
The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings by Amy Tan.
Amy Tam captures your heart as she gives you an intimate glimpse of her life story. She tells you how she was born into a family who believed in fate, a Mother whose legacy influenced her destiny, and most of all, Amy Tan delights you with her humor and wit.
Jeanette F. Milliner
The book that I passed along and told someone that they had to read was We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. This book still haunts after reading it over a year ago.
zorm1942@yahoo.com
Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy. I can't believe that I hadn't read this one way before now. One of my top mysteries!
Stephanie P. Wolf
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
jgarwood123@bellsouth.net
St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb. I never thought I'd like it because I'm not into NASCAR or Dale Earnhardt --- but it's great! And my fellow librarian thought so, too!
Pat Nichols
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
jwr7b@virginia.edu
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, Cane River by Lalita Tademy, and the Derek Strange/Terry Quinn series by George Pelecanos.
alexander.laird@navy.mil
I recently read Still Life with Crows by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. This is the third book of theirs I have read (The Relic andReliquary as the first two) and was blown away by it. I didn't want to put it down for fear I might miss something, a la missing a quarter in a football game. It is a first-rate murder/mystery that will have you guessing 'til the very last page.
Since Still Life I have re-read Relic, just started again onReliquary, and finished Brimstone. All of these books retain the same two main characters: Special Agent (FBI) Aloysius Pendergast of New Orleans and Lt. Vincent D'Agosta NYPD. In Still Life though, Lt. D'Agosta does not appear.
Dance with Death is the next book to be released by the two authors and directly follows up on the ending of Brimstone. It is set for a May (I believe) release and I will be first in line for it.
kerry-c@cox.net
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I loved it!!
JHenthorn@aol.com
The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness by Joel Ben Izzy
soniasez@aol.com
Around the House and in the Garden: A Memoir of Heartbreak, Healing, and Home Improvement by Dominique Browning.
This book was given to me as a gift from my sister-in-law, Cindy, who received it from her sister-in-law, Susan, and I passed it along to a friend, Pam. The author, Dominique Browning, is the editor-in-chief of House & Garden, and this is her story of how she changes her relationship with her house after her divorce.
Bookgranna@aol.com
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult was the last book I passed on immediately after I read it. Her books just get better and better. The stories are great and have a message without preaching.
Misanthrope2911@aol.com
The last book I passed along was The Ambassador's Son by Homer Hickam. Just wonderful.
AMason4818@aol.com
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
Steve
The last books I read and passed along with huge praise wereMyrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Ellen L. Savage
Pompeii by Robert Harris. Friends had recently gone to Italy and Pompeii, and I thought they would enjoy it.
Jamie Engle
You have to read The Culprit and the Cure by Dr. Steven Aldana. By giving you the science behind the requirements, it changes your whole mindset about nutrition and fitness. It's not about dieting, it's about making lifestyle changes to be healthy and live longer. I've lent my copy to two friends and my sisters.
landis@arm-tek.net
Ruth Reichl's new book, Garlic and Sapphires
Sheila
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh.
It was a really interesting family story that would make a good movie. The characters were flawed but mostly likable and seemed very real. Not everyone's story had a happy ending, but even then they made the best of the situation and the problems that they were either born with or were "thrust upon them" during the war.
RubyBegonia820@aol.com
I passed along The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. This is such a great book, I think everyone should read it.
tnharris@web-ster.com
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. What an incredible book.
Jane Wallace
The last book I passed along that was a must-read was No Ordinary Time by Doris K. Goodwin. My book group is reading it now.
KKRodgers@aol.com
You have to read Joy At Work by Dennis Bakke
shirley@theansteys.freeserve.co.uk
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Brilliant!
Vivian Watts
On the recommendation of Bookreporter, I just finished Philip Beard's debut novel, Dear Zoe. It is a novel told with sensitivity and compassion as well as new insight into a personal tragedy that occurs at the same time as the national tragedy of 9/11. I enjoyed the book so much that I passed it along to my sister, my daughter and my daughter-in-law. It is not an uplifting, feel-good kind of book, but it is one that everyone who still mourns at the mention of the World Towers should read. I give the book three and a half stars, and await the next novel by this new author!
Deb1teach@aol.com
A Perfect Day by Richard Paul Evans
preid939@earthlink.net
Cut and Run by Ridley Pearson
ROSpring@comcast.net
Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. I have owned the book for years but just recently read it. I did not realize what I had been missing. Immediately upon finishing the book, I loaned it to my friend who is an English professor and told him that he has to read it. I'm hoping that he responds to it the way I did. I have decided to read other books by Wallace Stegner. Too bad he's out of vogue. This book is an exceptionally good read!
MELEDSTICK@aol.com
Forests of the Night by James W. Hall
Bobandpat@sc.rr.com
Paranoia by Joseph Finder, an excellent read!
Sue from El Sobrante
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. A British private investigator follows three separate cases that cleverly intertwine at the end. Don't know if this book really fits into the mystery genre, since it has a strong human interest element, in addition to crime solving. P.D. James fans would probably enjoy this book.
JCAMP2020@aol.com
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. She also wrote The Thief Lord. Have your middle school students read these. (I am a middle school librarian)
I just finished Lucia, Lucia...how did I miss it!? It was great!
LewSch@aol.com
The last book I passed along to my husband to read was The Kite Runner. He is really enjoying it. We read it for our book club.
schot@cox.net
The last book I passed along to someone with the admonition "you must read this" was Derailed by James Siegel.
DStegmanCrawford@aol.com
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
britadon@aol.com
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Fran317@aol.com
Honeymoon by James Patterson
simecka@comcast.net
Singing in a Strange Land by Nick Salvatore.
This is an excellent biography of C. L. Franklin. I read this book and quickly passed it on to a friend to read.
carolyn333@juno.com
The last book I recommended was Angels & Demons as well asThe Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
peggyhagel@cox.net
I am passing around a book by Bart D. Ehrman, Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code, subtitled "A historian reveals what we really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Constantine." Our book discussion group just read and discussed Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Bart D. Ehrman is chairman of the Dept. of Religious Studies at the University of North Carlolina at Chapel Hill.
Lenore in Alabama
I have passed along A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, and no one has been disappointed! She is my favorite author.
BERNTONE@aol.com
There are three books that I was very excited about, and passed along. One was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. The person who read it also became very excited about it and bought several copies as gifts for her relatives and friends.
The next book I was intrigued with and passed along was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I never got that book back!
The last book I was very intrigued with is The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. This book requires you to read it with a paper and pen at hand so you can take notes. It is an extremely engrossing book about an intriguing and misunderstood personality, "sociopaths."
Ykira@aol.com
The last book I passed along and said "you've got to read this" was The Kite Runner.
Franky2131@aol.com
To my sister in law, Entombed by Linda Fairstein.
rootes@myway.com
My current pass-along favorites are Murder on Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood and Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.
Linda from Culmerville, PA
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Avery85282@aol.com
Krakatoa by Simon Winchester
AnnieMitten@aol.com
Safe Haven by Judy Turner and Cindy Smith
Andi Carter
The last book I passed on to someone else [only because I had two copies] was The Poet by Michael Connelly, which is a very good crime/suspense novel, and is easily one of Connelly's best.
As a rule, I do not loan out my books --- far too many times when I've done so, they never came home again. Now I only loan books if I have multiple copies, am sure I do not wish to keep the book, or if the person I loan it to is someone I am sure will return it. I've spent many years developing my library [and a great deal of money] and I prefer to keep it intact.
There's much to be said for Shakespeare's old quote: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
kelloggd@kellogg.edu
I always hesitate making recommendations because I might love a book that falls flat with someone else. However, I recently highly recommended Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian to a colleague at work, and she doesn't want it to end!
Snancy0319@aol.com
Shadow Divers was an excellent book I passed on others.
markchipster@yahoo.com
Foop! by Chris Genoa.
It's so wild and fun that I want to see how my friends react to it. It's also one of the funniest, most original books I have read in a long time. It's listed as science fiction but it's more of a tragic comedy, and it has a nice literary flavor to it as well.
Asim Ameer
There have been many of them. The most current one that I am strongly recommending to family and friends is The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini. If I was on an island in the middle of nowhere, this would be one of the books I would like to have to keep me company. This sleeper debut novel seems to have caught fire lately in paperback (even though it was published in 2003). It is currently number 4 on the USA Today top 150 book list. The author weaves a magical story of a friendship that evolves over decades, of loyalty and betrayal, and above all the triumph of right over wrong. A great read....
sthurn@wi.rr.com
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh. Let's hope she keeps on writing novels like Mrs. Kimble and Baker Towers. She's a new favorite.
JShapspob@aol.com
The Phantom Pirate by David Kales.
A fictionalized account of notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger
Angie.Cimarolli@sourcebooks.com
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
Just yesterday I threw it at a co-worker and said you must start this tonight and you'll have it done in two days. It's that good.
Jeananne Coop, Whittier, California
Most recently, I read and passed along Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. It is humorous in a heartwarming way, and as a bonus the author is just as warm and entertaining in person [I was privileged to hear her speak this week]. The book presents the story of an Iranian family in the United States and the universality of family life with good humor. My sister read my copy and it is now on my husband's nightstand.
